The Veteran's current left knee osteoarthritis is related to his military service, and the Board finds that the evidence in favor of the claim is at least in equipoise with that against it. As such, the benefit of the doubt must be resolved in favor of the Veteran.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's competent and credible lay statements linking his current left knee osteoarthritis to service were not considered by the VA examiner, who based their opinion on the absence of documented medical treatment in the years following the Veteran's separation. The Board found these statements to be persuasive evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 9, 2013
- Citation
- 1340613
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 1340613.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA examinations provided for the Veteran's knee and palatal tympanic myocronus claims were inadequate, and thus these cases must be remanded to obtain new evaluations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, but has remanded the cases of left knee and lumbar spine disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims of service connection for left and right knee disabilities are being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the relationship between his service-connected right ankle degenerative arthritis and his current knee conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran was eligible for beneficiary travel benefits to attend a VA medical appointment on March 16, 2021 due to his service-connected conditions. The Board found that the nearest available clinic provided the required care and that the Veteran's statements were credible and consistent with the evidence.
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